So in one of my friend's blogs, she mentions how it irritates her that people vote along racial or gender lines... i.e. African Americans voting for Obama because he's African American. I used to think that way too, but with experiences over the last couple years, I've completely changed my tune.
At work, they wanted to improve the numbers of Asian Americans to reflect the population of the P&G consumer. So they created "affinity groups" where people of similar backgrounds got together and tried to help each other and the company. Like most people, at first I was very skeptical. I was born and raised in the US, I fit in with Americans, but now you're taking me out and now pointing out how I'm different. Now, I realize just how great it is to be a part of an affinity group... some of us may have been born here, some of us may have been born in Asia and only lived in the US for a few years, but one thing I learned that we had in common: We all had Asian parents, and we learned that they did all the same quirky things as my parents did. I started to understand why I was who I was.
Now I realized I wasn't the only kid who felt guilty about watching Saturday morning cartoons because I should've been studying math. And why I play the violin. And why until recently why my dad was so stressed out about my sister not being a science major. And why at the age of 6 I wanted to be an engineer. And why I feel so conflicted when my parents want to buy me a car after I got my MBA. And why my mom was really surprised to find out that Xavier University was a real college after I toured them. I'm sure any of my Asian friends out there can add more.
So the answer to why voting for an African American president when you're African American is right? It's not that a black person is voting for Obama because he's black... it's because he's grown up with similar experiences as they have. There's no one better to understand race relations than someone who's gone through it. If an African American person votes for an African American president because he's African American, I would venture to guess that they agree on maybe 60-70% of their values. Now if you vote for a Republican because he's Republican, I would venture to guess that percentage is much lower. And for some reason it's OK to vote Republican if you're Republican.
I just read an article that immediately illustrates why having Obama as president changes things... suddenly racial diversity is no longer a taboo subject; instead it should be embraced. Although I wouldn't have been so quick in dropping the "a mutt like me" remark, I actually would call someone like him a "mix." I think of it as best of all worlds... Tiger Woods is a mix. My sister's kids will be a mix. When hitting on non-Asian women I try to use that as a pick up line. Hasn't quite worked yet, maybe a mixed-race person as president will help my cause?
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2 comments:
Yes, it is wrong if that is the sole reason you vote for a candidate. People should have voted for Barak Obama because of his policies and what he has to offer the country; but it is equally wrong to not have voted for him simply because you don't want a black president. Elections should NOT be about race, but many times they are and I feel that is what happened November 4th. Personally, I wasn't overjoyed with either choice in our last election, but the people have spoken and I am anxious to see how things progress. We certainly do need change and hopefully the President-Elect is able to fulfill the ideas he helped to inspire.
Ideally people vote for a candidate for his policies and what he/she can offer. But I would think the general public doesn't do the required research, so absent of knowing all that at least voting by race somewhat correlates to their policies and beliefs. My point was the correlation may be more for race than for political party, which people seem to not have problems voting along party lines.
And yes, definitely wrong to vote AGAINST Obama because of race.
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